Abdoulaye Tiémogo, managing editor of the weekly newspaper Le Canard déchaîné was on February 18, released from prison after completing an eight-month sentence. Agents of the Criminal Investigation Department arrested Tiémogo on June 28, 2002, after Prime Minister Hama Amadou filed a complaint with the Niamey Regional Tribunal against the journalist for, “defamation and insult.”
The paper had reported that Amadou attempted to bribe the Speaker of the National Assembly in order to retain his post of Prime Minister. Tiemogo filed an appeal; but the Niamey Appeal Court on November 11, 2002 upheld the sentence.
